Abstract
Background: Women, and migrant women in particular, are at increased risk of many common mental disorders, which may potentially impact their labor market participation and their work-related income. Previous research found that mental disorders are associated with several work-related outcomes such as loss of income, however, not much is known about how this varies with migrant background. This study investigated the change in work-related income following the uptake of outpatient mental healthcare (OPMH) treatment, a proxy for mental disorder, in young women with and without migrant background. Additionally, we looked at how the association varied by income level. Methods: Using data from four national registries, the study population consisted of women aged 23–40 years residing in Norway for at least three consecutive years between 2006 and 2013 (N = 640,527). By using a stratified linear regression with individual fixed effects, we investigated differences between majority women, descendants and eight migrant groups. Interaction analysis was conducted in order to examine differences in income loss following the uptake of OPMH treatment among women with and without migrant background. Results: Results showed that OPMH treatment was associated with a decrease in income for all groups. However, the negative effect was stronger among those with low income. Only migrant women from Western and EU Eastern Europe with a high income were not significantly affected following OPMH treatment. Conclusion: Experiencing a mental disorder during a critical age for establishment in the labor market can negatively affect not only income, but also future workforce participation, and increase dependency on social welfare services and other health outcomes, regardless of migrant background. Loss of income due to mental disorders can also affect future mental health, resulting in a vicious circle and contributing to more inequalities in the society.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 736624 |
| Pages (from-to) | 1-12 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Frontiers in public health |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | January |
| Early online date | 7 Jan 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors would like to thank Prof. Dawit Shawel Abebe for his input in the early stages of planning this paper. This work forms part of the doctoral thesis of the first author to be submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, at Oslo Metropolitan University. This manuscript has previously been published as a preprint (doi nos: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-122529/v1 and 10.21203/rs.3.rs-122529/v2) on Research Square and is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. The content of this manuscript has been presented at the 18th IMISCOE Annual Conference: Hynek KA, Straiton M. Mental disorder and subsequent income loss among young women with and without migrant background in Norway. Luxemburg: 18th IMISCOE Annual Conference. (2021).
Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Research Council of Norway through the Women’s Health programme’ (grant number: 273262/H10). A-CH’s contribution to the article was funded by Hollander/Forte 2016-00870/Psykiatrisk vård bland utrikesfödda.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Hynek, Hollander, Liefbroer, Hauge and Straiton.
Funding
The authors would like to thank Prof. Dawit Shawel Abebe for his input in the early stages of planning this paper. This work forms part of the doctoral thesis of the first author to be submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, at Oslo Metropolitan University. This manuscript has previously been published as a preprint (doi nos: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-122529/v1 and 10.21203/rs.3.rs-122529/v2) on Research Square and is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. The content of this manuscript has been presented at the 18th IMISCOE Annual Conference: Hynek KA, Straiton M. Mental disorder and subsequent income loss among young women with and without migrant background in Norway. Luxemburg: 18th IMISCOE Annual Conference. (2021). This research was funded by the Research Council of Norway through the Women’s Health programme’ (grant number: 273262/H10). A-CH’s contribution to the article was funded by Hollander/Forte 2016-00870/Psykiatrisk vård bland utrikesfödda.
Keywords
- early adulthood
- income
- mental disorder
- migrant women
- national register data
- outpatient mental health care
